


Nemesis

by pandatowrites



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Enemies to Lovers, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Humor, House Party, M/M, POV Eren Yeager
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:09:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21784231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pandatowrites/pseuds/pandatowrites
Summary: When Eren finds himself facing a problem unexpected help appears.
Relationships: Levi/Eren Yeager
Comments: 14
Kudos: 171





	Nemesis

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shades_0f_cool](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shades_0f_cool/gifts).



> This is a (very) late birthday gift for Julie!! Happy Birtday!! Lots of love and I wish you the best!! <3
> 
> Thank you so much, [Flamoria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flamoria/pseuds/Flamoria) , for beta-ing this!! You did a good job!! c:

“Aren’t you worried about your skirt blowing up?” I asked my sister who had her arms looped around my, if I say so myself, well-trained bicep. “You’re also just wearing a pair of pantyhose beneath. You must be freezing.” 

Mikasa rolled her eyes and grabbed onto me for more support as her heels dug into the wet ground, soft and loose from the rain. “I wouldn’t be cold if somebody had not forgotten his keys inside before we left the house.” 

“Smartass”, I grumbled and laid an arm around her. 

We were already about half an hour late because the microwave broke and my mac’n’cheese had to be cooked on the stove. On a stove! Imagine that! So I asked Mikasa to help me. Our parents would kill us if I had burned down the house while they were on their long awaited vacation. Both of us wolfed the food down and rushed to get ready. 

  
I threw on my usual white t-shirt and a pair of jeans, while Mikasa had to put on her whole goth makeup. “How are you even walking in those shoes? They are like 4 inches-” 

“Eren, shut up. You sound like Dad.” 

She sighed in relief when we reached the pavement. It sucked living on a new street where there was no sidewalk yet and only soggy soil. 

“Couldn’t your _boyfriend_ pick us up?” I tried again, in vain.

“He is the party host, remember? And he is not my boyfriend.”

“A pretty shitty party host if he can’t guarantee the safety of his guests.”

Mikasa chose to ignore me. Love you too, sis. 

It took us 20 minutes to arrive at the neighbourhood the Kirchsteins lived in, and if I was honest with myself, the only reason I had decided to tag along was to make sure that that horse bastard wasn’t making any moves on Mikasa. And to get drunk and forget about all the assignments due on Monday. 

“I am so glad we don’t live in the rich people part of town. His neighbours have to listen to _Freaks_ probably 17 times every fortnight. Where are his parents even at? Mom would snap our necks,” I complained again to Mikasa’s cold shoulder.

I had given up on trying - or rather pretending - to like Jean’s house parties. Too many people, too much drugs, and way too many next-morning-regrets.

One time I had woken up with socks that weren’t mine. Scary. And one time I woke up in the Kirchsteins’ bathtub covered in - hopefully - my own puke. That had been dreadful, as Gordon Ramsay would say it. Oh, and another time-

“Look who’s there,” Mikasa interrupted my trip down memory lane in a teasing tone. 

My head shot up and my eyes had to capture the very presence of Levi Ackerman leaning against the grey boundary wall with a cigarette between his lips. “My nemesis,” I growled and clenched my fist. 

  
Another reason to not enjoy any of Jean’s house parties.

Levi motherfucking Ackerman.

He was an arrogant asshole with his damn good looks and his stupid “I’m so bored and you waste my time”-stare. Always wearing a leather jacket and having a cig between his almost non-existent lips. Honestly, why were all the girls after a guy you can’t kiss? Do they wanna suck on his teeth or what? Well, it’s the only thing they could suck on. Can’t suck on something that’s only an inch long.

We were in some of the same classes, too. He prided himself upon being the best, always scoring a 100. Moreover, he was the Captain of the football team. And with that I had to spend more time with him than I could handle.

But I had something he desired - a social life and friends. Hah. Take that, you midget.

When we drew near, Levi lifted his eyes from the ground and threw them at us in an indifferent manner. 

Mikasa only smiled politely, you know, one of those “I know you, and my mom is a white boomer and she raised me to greet everybody in town”-smiles, while I stared at him. 

Oh yeah. I see you. And no, you don’t deserve any greeting. Not the tiniest bit of attention. 

And so we had a stare-off because his damn ice-blue eyes did not move away from my face.

Even when he inhaled a shallow puff through the tobacco roll, the tip glowed in flaming orange before turning to ashes.

My sister sighed. “Quit eye-fucking him,” she reprimanded me in a hushed voice and pinched my arm, right where my skin was sensitive. 

“I’m not eye-fucking him,” I barked at her louder than I had planned. 

When we finally passed him, the bitter scent of smoke stung my nose, but there was also a mild, fresh smell… After-shave? 

  
Yet, before I could determine if he was using the same one as I did, he exhaled and blew the smoke right into my face to talk. “You did eye-fuck me, Jäger.”  
  


Oh god, I _hate_ him.

I wanted to turn around and give him a piece of my mind, but Mikasa held me back and pulled me with her. “Hey, lemme go!”

“You are _not_ getting in trouble tonight, Eren,” she hissed and left Levi behind with me in her grasp. 

We walked up the stone path to the huge house, painted in white and decorated with flowers on every window. The windows revealed that the party was already rad - every room was illuminated in a different light, except for the kitchen. I saw exactly 6 people in there from outside, and they were the same as usual. This weird stoner kid, the lesbian with the blue hair, the guy who studied law, the guy who didn’t actually study but somehow always hung out on the campus, the girl who married her boyfriend when they were 19 years old - they had a pregnancy scare - and Connie. I don’t know what he did in the kitchen most of the night, probably grabbing snacks and smuggling them into the bathroom to share them with Sasha. 

Who could blame him though, Horseface provided his guests with expensive food. He even had shrimps occasionally. 

Stopping at the door, Mikasa rang the bell and it was a miracle that anybody inside the house heard the bing-bong-bam as the music boxes blasted _Old Town Road_ presumably on full volume. What a bop.

Jean opened the door and instantly grinned when he recognized my sister next to me. “Hey there. And greetings, Jäger.” 

“Hi,” I mumbled and crossed my arms, watching him lean in and share a kiss on the cheek with Mikasa. “Can’t you do that inside? It’s cold.”

Of course, when Mikasa had stepped inside and was out of earshot, instead of being polite he had to retort, “Afraid that your nipples will get hard?” 

_Ugh._

When I tried to squeeze past him, Jean pressed his hand on my chest and kept me back. 

“Hey, who said you could come in?” 

“Uh, you invited me,” I reminded him with probably the most annoyed look ever. 

He shook his head. “I did, but with the premise that you bring your girlfriend with you.”

What the fuck?

  
“I don’t have a girlfriend, Jean,” I growled and wanted to take another step forward, yet I was stopped once again, this time with a rather rough shove. 

“Too bad. Guess you can watch from outside.” 

**_BAM!_ **

He slammed the door shut in front of me. 

  
And he was probably going to hit on Mikasa tonight.

I sound like the typical, close-minded big brother, but hear me out. Mikasa is one of the most intelligent, independent and beautiful people I had the pleasure of knowing, or being related to, for that matter. 

But I _know_ that she will fall for “just the tip” and being a guy I _know_ that Jean will work with the same logic. And the fact that he had always been crushing on my baby sister did not ease my mind at all.

Jean was not a bad boyfriend, so I heard, but he had a reputation of being a fuckboy.

Which was as itself nothing bad, sex is great and all - amazing, 12/10 - but the rest of the fuckboy business - being a dick to girls, getting their hopes up, pretending to care - was morally reprehensible.

“You look constipated,” a low voice rang in my ears and made me flinch. “What’s the matter? Can’t get inside?”

What have I done to anger the Gods? Yes, I lied to my mom yesterday, but it was a white lie.

With a pissed off sigh, I turned around and faced my nemesis who stood there, looking unamused as ever.

“No. As surprising as it may sound, I don’t have a girlfriend-”

Levi snorted. “Not surprising at all.” 

Controlling my hands - barely, might I add - and not strangling him, I swallowed my salt from the comment and continued, “and therefore I am not allowed. What a stupid rule.”

“Oh? That’s what got you looking like a mordlusting wolf?” Levi toyed around with his lip piercing and proceeded to stare right into my soul. “Consider yourself lucky because I have an amazing offer for you.”

“And that is? Are you gonna break into the house with me?”

  
“No, you idiot. I’ll pretend to be your boyfriend. You’re gay anyway, right? Or bi or whatever. So it won’t be a shocker.” 

My mouth dropped open, and my soul left my body. Or it was the bug I had swallowed earlier by accident.

“Are you serious?”

  
Levi’s unfazed expression was enough of an answer. 

“Wait, why would you help me? We hate each other,” I asked him when my gut told me to doubt his suspicious behaviour. He was probably gonna blackmail me with something.

Wait, that’s not how blackmailing works.

  
Anyway.

“We hate each other?”, Levi questioned and one of his stupid brows raised. How in the hell did they grow so perfect? My own had to be trimmed every week. His expression changed to something unreadable, before he regained his “I don’t fucking care your grandma died”-look. 

“Either way, will you accept the offer?”

I played through countless scenarios - call me Dr. Strange - before I agreed, “ah fuck it, why not. It’s just one evening”, without remotely considering any of the countless scenarios that it could lead to. 

An award-winning grin faced me when I looked Levi again, but it seemed a bit mysterious, maybe even… successful. Yes. 

“Great. You owe me one”, he agreed, his tone was somewhat intimidating, yet I shrugged it off.

“Yeah, yeah,” I mumbled and prepared to laugh at Jean’s face. Now he can’t throw me out again. Plus, Levi is pretty intimidating - as much as I hate to admit it. “You ready?”

  
“Been born ready,” my fake boyfriend answered simply and laid an arm around my waist, making me flinch. “Chill. I’m your boyfriend now, remember? You can’t be a pussy now.” Levi rang the bell again and before I could respond to his snarky remark with a witty comment, the front door was opened again by none other than Jean.

“Jäger, what are you doing here again? Are you deaf? No depressed single-pringles allowed here,” he reminded me, ignoring Levi for now, and leaned against the doorframe with a shit-eating grin that, however, suddenly faltered before he replaced his superiority with confusion as he noticed Levi’s arm around me. “Hey, wait a second…”

“Yup. I’m not single,” I said, triumph sparkling in my voice. 

Then Levi removed his grasp on my waist and cracked his knuckles. “I heard you were a homophobic asshole?”

Oh shit.

If this situation would have been in a comic, Jean would have 5 sweat pearls running down his temple. “No, uh…” 

He leaned in, closed the door a bit, and looked serious. I mean, he still looked dumb, but this time he was serious.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against the gays. Like, whatever floats your boat. Just didn’t know you two were… Y’know. Gay. And a couple.” One of Jean’s hand found its way to his neck and began to rub the undercut there in a nervous manner.

“Oh, yeah. We are a couple. But it would be super gucci if you could not make a big deal out of it,” I said, playing it cool, and threw a glance at Levi who nodded in agreement.

The party host scrambled back, opening the door for us and inviting us inside. “Yes, of course. Uh… Get yourselves comfortable.”

Stepping inside, the intoxicating scent of alcohol, sweat and party poked my nose, almost making me miss the fresh, chilly air outside. It was a rather big house party tonight, not only because seemingly half of the campus was here, but also because the living room was filled to the brim with already plastered people. 

I had never been one to enjoy dancing while sober, but when I was boozed-up? Fuck, even Levi or Jean could start grinding against me while I twerked. Gotta use them glutes for good.

The boxes blasted music, the ground shook slightly and I would have been almost too overwhelmed with disgust when a couple was eating each other’s lips on the stairs - there was way too much tongue visible -, however, Levi’s hand crept to the small of my back and rested there. It sent a shiver up and down my spine, it was so warm and guiding.

“You owe me one”, he reminded me once again, his voice deep and warning. “Don’t forget that. So don’t embarrass me tonight.” His lips brushed the shell of my ear ever so slightly, goosebumps bloomed all over my skin and my breath hitched. 

“Ew, your breath is wet,” I complained and rubbed my ear, to hide the slight flush in my face. 

What the hell was going on? I shouldn’t turn red by the hands of Levi Ackerman.

He was my nemesis. 

Jesus, I really need to get laid. If touching my ear - probably one of the unsexiest parts of the human body - was enough to have my heart skip a beat, hell, I should perhaps deserve the title “lonely”, as sad as it sounds. 

Levi just rolled his eyes and then stared at me intensely, letting go of my collar I didn’t know he had grabbed to yank me down. “Have fun.”

And with that, he exited my range of care when he left to sit outside in the backyard or god knows where. 

I dismissed my boyfriend’s lack of interest in my well-being - Jean’s parties were known for being wild - with false disappointment as I entered the dining room where people were playing beer pong. 

Nothing - not even my angry mother - could move me anywhere close to the living room. I was, against common assumption, not looking forwards to get squeezed between torsos and hit by flying hands and elbows. Plus, the music was way too loud. 

  
I doubt Jean would try to get to know Mikasa more where she couldn’t understand his flirting and jokes. God, what a blessing. His voice was annoying from time to time, no matter how good of a teammate he was. 

That dude could run across the whole field without panting and he’d defend you no matter what. Plus he knew how to kick a ball, how to yeet it into the goal. Superb. 12/10, Jean for team captain. Capital F. Mad respect.

Additionally, he was one to drink one or two beers with. Not bad. 

He was just...really annoying.

And he tried to score with my wonderful baby sister. 

Just when I wanted to walk up to have a chat with Jean, Reiner grabbed my arm and spun me around gently. 

“Hey, Eren. Didn’t know you were here as well,” he greeted me with a smile, as if he was genuinely joyful to see my face. 

“Yo, Reiner. What’s up?” We shared a brofist. Ah, what a feeling to have him as your buddy. 

Usually, none of the girls I know understand this connection bros share. It’s more than friendship, it’s brotherhood. It’s like having soulmates- no, a soul family. Soulfam. All of the team mates were homies. We all would publish our browser history if it meant to save another bro’s ass. 

“Nothing much. Bert and I were playing beer pong. Wanna join?,” he offered and without hesitation, I said yes. 

Nobody beats _me_ in beer pong. 

With a last glance to Mikasa and Jean, Reiner and I returned to the table and set up another round. From my position it was easy to spot the two in the corner of the hallway, so I didn’t mind being distracted from my goal, being led away temporarily from my path. 

Berthold stopped me in my tracks when I filled up a cup with beer. “We ain’t doing that today. We’re gonna get wasted tonight. We’re gonna sip the good stuff.” He lifted his hands, one presenting a Jack Daniel’s bottle and the other holding up a coke bottle. 

“Oh, well then. Let’s do Jack and Coke.” I just shrugged.

And that was about the last thing I remember before I gained clarity. The breeze gliding over my skin felt so cold and clear, standing in total contrast to the warmth at the back of my head. 

“Urghfz,” I groaned when my temple started throbbing and my vision stopped spinning. The stars shone above me, either a sign that I was outside or that somebody knocked me the fuck out. But the stars did not look like they did in cartoons, so it was safe to assume that I was indeed outside. 

“Ah, somebody decided to wake up from their booze nap, huh?” 

  
Suddenly, a forehead was separating my eye contact with the sky and my eyes widened when I recognized that it was Levi’s stare that pierced not only my body and my soul but the last of my dignity as well.

In that exact same moment the realization hit me; I was on Jean’s back porch and the soft warmth was Levi’s lap supporting my head. Hate to admit it, but his thighs are quite comfortable. No surprise that the girls wanna sit on it.

“Hey there,” I said, trying not to be awkward - and maybe trying to shake off my perverted thoughts -, however when I did so, I tasted the puke in my breath at the same time when my fake boyfriend scrunched his nose. “Sorry.”

  
“Just stop talking,” he demanded and averted his gaze, lifting his head to clear his airways from the bad smell. Afterwards he dipped his fingers into his pants’ pockets, fingering around in them, and offered me a mint gum which I gladly and thankfully took before using it promptly. 

It was disgusting, the taste of puke and mint mixed together, but it was better than the taste that had spread on my tongue before, so I really had no right to complain. 

When I was sure that my breath was endurable, I chose to speak up again, “So uh… Are you gonna tell me what happened that lead to… this?” I gestured to us, to my head in his lap. Because frankly said, I would have never expected to be so close to Levi’s junk. Or anybody’s junk for that matter.

“What do you mean with _‘this’_?”, Levi questioned, amusement tainting his voice as he was playing dumb, before he turned serious. “You are my boyfriend. So I am responsible for your idiotic ass. I had to break up a fight between you and Jean, who had punched you so hard in the gut you puked onto the floor and dozed off.” He paused and lit up a cigarette.

When he did so, his face glowed in a hot orange, bringing out his features, and he looked so… handsome. It might have been the punch from before, but my belly felt funny in that moment.

“Then… well, basically your sister was so mad that she left the party. Which left me with caring for you and getting you outside,” he finished the story and blew out the smoke in between the words. 

Levi had actually… cared for me? What? We were enemies. Okay, fake boyfriends as well, but we hated each other, right?

  
Right?  
  


“Why?” I asked, as stupid as I was. 

“Because fresh air works wonders?”

  
“No, why did you care for me?”

  
Obviously caught off guard, he glared at me with furrowed brows, he was thinking. The cogs in his head were working, I could almost hear it.

“Because you are… my fake boyfriend, I guess,” Levi answered hesitantly, something so out of character, yet I didn’t push it, because it made sense. Nevertheless, he elaborated anyways, “Would have been suspicious if I had not dragged you out of there.”

  
I didn’t respond to it, other than nodding slightly while I stared at him continually. 

“Wanna take a picture of me?” he grumbled, his voice rough and somewhat irritated. 

“Save your sass for someone else, Ackerman.”

Our eyes were locked together and although he had laid no finger upon me, I felt touched somewhere deep inside me.

“Why would you go so far as pretending to be gay?” I questioned him, destroying the silence that had built up between us.

“Who said I was pretending?” Levi asked on the contrary and brought the cigarette back to his lips, inhaling the deadly fumes. 

“What?” My eyes widened in shock. “Wait- that means you outed yourself today?”  
  


He looked to the sky and shrugged. “Seems like it. I don’t mind it too much. It will keep the girls away.” Then, his eyes found mine again. “Same goes for you as well, though.”

And somehow that didn’t bother me in the slightest.

Not that I would admit that to him, though. 

“Since when did you know it?” My mouth worked before my brain processed my thoughts entirely. I was way too interested and involved in his sexuality now. 

And he was way too ready to answer honestly, “Grade 7 or so. There was this boxer shorts ad playing on TV and the model looked hot. And there is this one guy but I don’t have a chance with him.” 

He? Not? Having? A? Chance?

What is he smoking? 

“Why not?” I asked and my voice sounded probably way too emotionally invested. I sounded like my mother when she was watching one of those never-ending romance TV series. 

Levi rolled his eyes, but I couldn’t figure out if it was due to my question or because of the guy. “He acts very straight. And we don’t talk a lot. Almost never. Only if we have to. And he seems to think I hate him or something.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

Why am I feeling bad for him? He is my nemesis and I was his. 

Ugh, human nature is indeed flawed.

Although we were talking about these private things, we both were chill. No excitement, only relaxing exhales every now and then were to be perceived.

  
Yet it did surprise me when Levi’s fingers entangled themselves in my hair and played with it. 

And _shit_ , it sent shivers down my spine; goosebumps spread all over my skin. Especially when his fingernails grazed my scalp.

Fuck. I had to be drunk. 

My belly felt all kinds of weird. 

But… it wasn’t a “to puke or not to puke”-weird, it was a… tingling weird.

“Why do you apologize?” my fake boyfriend wondered and apparently took note of my goosebumps because he stopped in his tracks for a second. And then - after I imagined hearing a quiet “fuck it” - he took his leather jacket off and spread it out over my torso, before continuing where he had left off, petting my messy hair.

It was really… enjoyable.  
  
Did this qualify as cuddling?  
  
I didn’t mind it as much as I thought I would, being close to Levi and all.

“You’re not as bad as I thought, I guess.”

Through the smoke of his next exhale I saw the corners of his mouth twitch.

  
  


- **x** -

  
  


_Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit-_

“Stop running!”

I was slammed against the lockers in the gym, my body caged between the cold metal and the angry dwarf who pressed himself against me. 

The students around us stared at us, but minded their own business a few seconds later. Traitors!

“Why are you following me?” I asked Levi, my lovely fake boyfriend, and pushed him off me. However, he grabbed my hands and intertwined our fingers. He loved to do that, because he knew I could not resist him in public. 

  
It was not uncomfortable or unsettling or whatever, but you know, we were not actually a couple. I should not be comfortable with it.

“Why are you running away?” Levi asked me in return, to which I shook my head. Very clever. “No? What do you mean, ‘no’?”

  
“Why are you following me?” I repeated, only to be dragged out of the building. 

He did not look at me, but I could tell that it was something serious.

When we reached his car in the parking lot, he leaned against it and let his eyes run up and down my body. “You look presentable. That’s good.” He pushed himself off the side of his car and ruffled my hair, until he combed it with his fingers. 

“Why are you so touchy?” I demanded to know, however I did not stop his sad attempt at untwirling my knots. “And why should I look ‘presentable’?”  
  
Levi’s hands fell to his sides as his gaze finally met mine again, intimidating and yet mellow.

“You still owe me one, remember? Well, Jäger, your time to shine has come.” He crossed his arms and leaned back again. “You’re invited over to dinner.”  
  
Dinner? Free food? 

  
Confusion was written all over my face, probably in big, bold letters, as I stared at him. “I can’t connect the dots. Why is that… a bad thing for me? I get food for free. I thought _I_ owe _you_ one.”

“Congratulations. You unlocked a new side quest. You will meet my mother,” Levi explained, but it still did not make sense to me. 

What a _FOOL_ I had been.

Before I could interrogate him further, Levi spoke up first. “You’re my boyfriend, remember?” He sighed, when I still did not understand. “My mom wants me to have a boyfriend. Because I’ve been single all my life. And well, you owe me one. And you already have some practice now, so don’t behave like the virgin you are, please.” 

  
Not offended by the insult - I suppose it was an insult, because we still were enemies, right? -, although I must admit that it hurt somewhere deep down in my chest - probably my pride -... How did I start the sentence? Ah fuck. I could not think when he was around. Anyway, my mouth dropped a very intelligent “oh”, before I nodded slowly.

Somehow, at the thought of meeting Levi’s family as his _boyfriend_ made me feel giddy.  
  


“Okay, _sweetheart_. Deal,” I finally agreed with a grin. “But you will pick me up. Write me the time and date.” 

“Actually… it’s today. After school. Soccer practice, remember?”

Oh shit. There went my joy.

“You wanna present me today? I’ll be meeting your family stinkin’,” I clarified, so he shook his head. 

“You’re gonna take a shower, you pig.” With a dark, serious glare, he added. “It’s an order. I’m the Captain.”  
  
I had not known that all muscles could twitch at once like...internally. But now I did.

- **x** -

  
  


Retrospectively, I should have taken showers in the school showers way before. Not only because they are not as disgusting and humiliating I thought they were - my buddies are pretty chill and didn’t make a deal out of us, 11 mostly straight dudes, taking a shower together -, but also because, fuck, my 10 years old self was screaming.

This was way better than looking at underwear ads or packaging from Walmart.

And admittedly, I could understand why the cheerleaders were talking about _them glutes_.

Anyway, later I was sitting outside the gym, waiting for Levi to get ready, and when he finally came out, he looked fresh and good. Not sweaty.

“You okay?” he asked me, stretching out a hand and inviting me into his hold. The sun was behind his head, creating a halo and allowing him to look even more handsome. His silky hair fell over his eyes, but although his face was darkened by shadow, his eyes seemed to glow.

Hesitating I grabbed his hand and pushed myself off the ground, but he pulled me up as well, so we kind of doubled the needed force? I don’t know, I’m bad at physics. 

  
Either way, I stumbled against him and we spun in a circle once while trying to gain a secure stance. Eventually we came to a stop and we were hugging each other tightly, staring into each other’s eyes with surprised gazes.

The scent of Levi’s perfume tickled my nose, he smelled _so good_ , it made me weak in the knees. I could even smell his shampoo, we were so close. 

  
My heart was jumping up and down, doing gymnastics and probably even participating in the Olympics. His hands tingled so warmly on my back, and the way the lids closed halfway over his eyeball when he observed my lips, jesus, my brain was experiencing a shortcut. 

Error 404: Braincells.exe not found. 

“Y-Yeah, I’m okay now,” I lied, you know, like a liar, because being chest to chest with Levi made one suffer a weirdly pleasant heart attack. “Are… Are you?” My voice failed me. I sounded like I just hit puberty.

Levi nodded, oddly fast, and he opened his mouth, yet he was interrupted before a sound left his vocal cords and went past his lips. 

“Hey, homos, just kiss already. Everybody knows you two are together,” Jean’s annoying voice rang in my ears and my first instinct was to push Levi off me. 

This was not happening, I was not with a guy. I had not come out yet.

When Levi laid a hand on the small of my back, I relaxed and breathed in deeply. I was not really together with Levi and my family did not know about him. Our feelings were not real.

Wait, what feelings?

  
Eren, channel your sexual frustration.

“The fuck did you call us?” Levi questioned in a threatening voice, resulting in Jean lifting his hands up in a defensive manner. Nobody dared to mess with him. Only Hanji. And me sometimes. Because I know he won’t do anything to me. I’m the ticklish, soft spot on his neck that he hates.

“Yo, chill. Didn’t mean it in a bad way. You don’t have to feel bad for being gay. It’s the 21st century. Go wild. I support you.” 

“You better,” my fake boyfriend added and took another good look at me, before we started to distance ourselves from Jean. “Till next week, Kirchstein.”

  
“Bye!”  
  
When we reached Levi’s motorcycle, I noticed that two helmets were strapped to the handlebars. It seemed that we would not be driving to his place in a secure, wind-proof vehicle but rather a really fast bicycle. 

_Shit_.

“Worried, Jaeger?” Levi asked as he carefully opened the locks to remove the helmets and handed one to me. “I’m not a jerk in the streets.”

“Only in the sheets?” I joked, laughing nervously in hope that he would understand my sorry excuse of humor. 

However, I was not prepared for what came next. With the most smug grin, he answered, “maybe.” 

  
There went my smile and it felt like my head was going to explode. 

  
“Oh, you’re a full face blusher. Cute”, he commented in a teasing voice, although his hands were frozen in time, gripping his helmet in a way that made his knuckles pop out. 

_Cute._

I was losing my mind.  
  
Especially when we were actually driving because I had to grab onto him for my own good, and fuck, his abs are really as defined as they had looked in the changing room.

I didn’t even made a conscious decision to move my hands further up, but when we finally came to a stop I felt his heart beat in a _fast, uncontrolled_ rhythm. 

How was it possible that his heart was beating… the same speed as mine? 

Was it because my chest was pressed against his back? Because my heart was beating so violently that it affected his heart, hitting it and pushing it forward? 

Yet I found myself discarding my worries and allowed myself to clutch his jacket, my fingers digging into the fabric. Levi’s clothes were always soft and clean, and they never smelled bad. He really cared for cleanliness… His hair was silky, but never oily. His stubble was probably shaved off every day, or at least every two days, and yet I had never noticed any irritations.

What would my mom give for a son like him. I remember the time my mom found an old lunch box. It had started to grow life. 

Uh, sorry, mom, love you.

When we finally arrived at Levi’s house, he parked in the driveway and waited for me to get off the bike first, before he followed and took off his helmet. When he saw that I struggled, he helped me, and when his fingers touched my jaw I think I jumped a little.

“You alright?” my boyfriend questioned and removed the helmet from my face. He… looked so different in that second. I caught myself admiring him with mellow gazes, observing every inch of his visage, when I met his ask with silence.

I must have stumbled, or perhaps I fell, yet I can’t remember it. What did I trip over?

“More than alright,” I whispered when I remembered the words that had left Levi’s lips.

One of his thin brows raised, but before he could actually voice his thoughts, an angelic voice rang in my ears.

“Hello,” she greeted and she was a rather juvenile looking woman, standing in the door frame in casual clothes. If she had not looked a little older than Levi I would have thought she was his twin, but she was indeed his mother, as I found out when she shook my hand and introduced herself inside the house. “I’m Ms Ackerman. It’s nice to meet you, Eren. Levi told me a lot about you.” Her smile was kind, and it grew even wider when her son cursed inaudibly.

“Oh, did he?” I questioned with a surprised yet teasing grin myself, but when I felt the heat rush to my cheeks I turned my head to the side. 

_Levi told his mother a lot about me?_

Yes, he truly had done just that. Kuchel knew my birthday as well. Not even Reiner knew birthday and he went to my birthday party that year. 

“Thanks for the evening,” Levi mumbled when I got off his bike. “Like, for actually playing along and not being a complete brat.”

Automatically, my hand found its way to my nape to rub it. Fuck, since when did I get flustered so easily?

“Yeah, no biggie.” I fumbled around with the helmet, but it was stuck again. 

“Seems like your head is too big, hm? In need of help?” he joked - he actually joked, what the hell - and there they were again, his fingers on my sensitive skin. 

“I’m not a damsel in distress…” Still, I let him guide his fingertips between the material of the helmet, uh, plastic or something, and my neck. 

“Sure, sure,” Levi whispered when he pulled off the headwear and pulled it to his chest. “So… No fake boyfriends anymore. We’re even now.”

Collecting all my courage and not fearing any gods, I shook my head in disagreement. “Nope. We’re not. This evening was hella awkward.”

His eyes widened for a second. Heh, gotcha, Ackerman. “Uh…” What a priceless reaction. 

Eren, you can do this. You is charming. You is attractive. You is flirty. Sometimes at least.

“I think you should take me out on a date to make it up to me”, I suggested before turning around and fleeing to my house. 

_SHITSHITSHITFUCKFUCKFUCKGODFUCKINGDAMNIT-_

My ancestors’ spirits, along with the given courage, left me the second I ended the sentence. 

O-R-Z. orz.

The agony of picking out the right key struck, giving Levi enough time to catch up to me and pin me against the door- somewhat really awkward because I was caged between his arms and my family was only a few meters away, just inside the house.

“Are you serious?” he asked me, hair covering his eyes making it impossible to read his expression. He had left his helmet on his motorcycle’s seat.

For a second, I feared that he would say something like “that’s fucking gay”, but Levi did not. 

Instead, he waited for my honest answer.

And that’s what I presented him. “Yes.”

I don’t think I have ever seen Levi Ackerman sigh in relief before, but he did.

“Then I will pick you up tomorrow at 6 pm. Wear something nice for me.”

That was all.

He turned around and returned to his vehicle.

“Eren?” he called me and we shared another 5 seconds staring at each other. “As boyfriends, right?”

“As boyfriends,” I reassured. The content staining his face melted my heart, before it exploded.


End file.
